Does your Snake plant have skinny leaves?
Well, it is a known problem in this type of plant.
Since the plant doesn't have a long stem, it stores most of its resources in the leaves and rhizomes.
This is why the leaves are so important for the growth of the Snake plant.
Thankfully, though, the slender leaves on your Snake plant are not a major issue, as it can be fixed with some quick solutions.
So, let's see how we can address this issue in the following guide.
Why Are My Snake Plant Leaves Skinny?
The Snake plant leaves get skinny because of underwatering, direct sunlight, nutrient deficiency, and lack of space in the pot.
These are the most prominent reasons for such a problem in your Snake plant.
However, it's not something that you can't fix entirely.
If you take care of the plant regularly, you will never have the skinny leaves issue in your plant.
This is also true for all the plants in your indoor as well as outdoor garden.
So, how do you tackle this issue?
And what exactly needs to be done to get the fleshy leaves back on the plant?
Let's learn more about it in the next section.
5 Ways To Fix Skinny Leaves On Snake Plant
Here are the top five tips you can follow to resolve this issue -
1. Water Your Snake Plant
First thing first, you need to water your thin Snake plant.
It's the best and quickest way to resurrect your plant without putting much effort into it.
You just need to follow a routine while watering this type of plant, and the plant should be back in its growth phase in a couple of weeks.
As for watering the plant, you can water it every 7-10 days, depending on the environmental conditions.
If the weather is not too hot, you can even extend the watering period for up to 15 days.
The watering session hardly takes a couple of minutes of your time.
So, don't neglect it.
Water the plant whenever the soil becomes dry.
2. Provide Enough Sunlight To Your Plant
The next important thing is the sunlight.
The Snake plant prefers bright sunlight throughout the day.
Since the food generation mechanism is pretty much based on the photosynthesis process, you will have to make sure that the plant receives enough sunlight during the day.
Otherwise, it'd be difficult for the plant to produce adequate food during this period.
Now, where should you keep this plant?
You can place this plant in a room that receives 4-5 hours of sunlight during the day.
It doesn't have to be direct sunlight, though!
This plant can survive in indirect light as well.
You can also keep it under artificial grow light if you don't receive full sun in the room.
However, natural light is always a better option for the plant, especially when you want to tackle the skinny leaves issue.
3. Do Not Plant Many Plants In The Same Pot
Are you taking good care of the plant and still seeing slender leaves?
In that case, the issue might be related to the pot.
Generally, many of us like to grow our indoor plants in relatively small containers.
These containers look cute and complement the decor nicely.
But sometimes, the plant can outgrow the space available in the pot.
Also, if you plant more than one plant in the same container, it can lead to similar issues in the pot.
Since the resources available in the soil are limited, the plants will have no option but to compete with each other.
So, in case you have already planted many plants in the pot, you should move them into different pots.
Once you remove the existing plants, you can repot the Snake plant in the same pot.
Don't forget to add a fresh batch of soil mixture to this pot, as it will help enhance your plant's growth.
4. Transplant The New Pups
Similar to the above point, you don't have to keep the new Snake plant pups in the same pot.
Once they turn a few weeks old, you can move them to new pots.
If you allow these pups to grow in the same container as the mother plant, you might get to see skinny leaves on it.
The baby plants are heavy feeders, and they need more resources to grow quickly.
Eventually, all these plants will get root-bound due to a lack of space and resources in the soil.
To avoid such a situation, transplant the new plants as early as possible.
5. Fertilize The Plant Regularly
Yes, indoor plants also require fertilizers!
Even though their growth rates are not as high as outdoor plants, they do require nutrients during their growing phase.
Without a regular supply of fertilizers, the plant will remain stunted, and you will see many of its leaves turning skinny and flat.
So, fertilize the plant and see how its leaves come back to life.
This can also be a great solution if you don't have a new container for transplanting new plants.
You can simply feed the plants with fertilizers, and they should continue to grow at a standard rate despite the adverse conditions.
Still, you will need to perform the transplanting task at some point in time.
So, you should get a new pot from the local nursery or online store.
To summarize, these are the few things you need to follow if you wish to revive your Snake plant.
Once you start working on these suggestions, the plant will surely thrive, and the leaves will get better in the process.
Now, let's check out the FAQs related to this topic.
FAQs
You can make it thicker by providing enough water and fertilizers regularly. Both these are essential elements for the plant.
The third element is sunlight, which plays a crucial role in the growth phase. Without proper sunlight, the leaves will not grow in their natural shape.
It can happen because of the growth of your plant as well as the direction of sunlight. If the plant is doing well, its leaves will grow tall.
The tall leaves often don't stand straight, especially when the plant is weaker. So, you need to address the existing issues in your plant.
Moreover, the direction of sunlight can also have an impact on how the leaves grow on the plant.
If the plant is receiving full sunlight from the top, the leaves will grow in the same direction. As a result, they will become leggy. Sometimes, the lack of sunlight can also make the leaves extend their growth in an upward direction.
There are two reasons for this issue, i.e., partial sunlight and heavy leaves.
Firstly, if the plant is not receiving enough sunlight from the top, the leaves will grow sideways to catch the sunlight from other directions. This is usually seen in places like the living room and bedroom where the sun rays enter the room from a parallel direction.
The second reason is the overgrowth in your Snake plant. When the plant matures, the older leaves become heavy and lose support from the base.
Due to this process, they lean toward the outer sides. Apart from these two reasons, the leaves may fall flat as they turn weak.
If your Snake plant is shriveling, it could be a sign of underwatering and too much direct sunlight. You can easily resolve these issues by providing adequate water to the plant.
As for the sunlight, you can move the plant to a slightly shaded place.
You can prune the Snake plant leaves from the base.
You will find the leaves attached to the stem, which can be removed with the help of sharp shears. While thinning, you should try to remove the damaged and weaker leaves in the first stage.
Once you are done with it, you can move on to removing some of the unwanted leaves from the plant. You should follow this process in stages, as it won't be a good idea to remove most of the leaves in one go.
Always perform light pruning. For backup, you can try to root the pruned leaves.
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